Improvement in sewing-machines



- VVV2 Sheets-Sheet 1v. BRADFORD &` BARBER.

v:Sewing Machine. y 110.148.511. Patented Ju1y4, 1865.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. BRADFORD BARBER. Y

y Sewing Machine.

No. 48,511. Patented July 4, 1865.

y. UNrraa STATES PATENT OFFICE. A

1E. F. BRADFORD AND L. L. BARBER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. A'

IMPROVEMENT IN "SEWING-MACHINES.

Speciiication forming part of vLetters Patent No. 45,51 l,y dated July 4, 1865.

` To all whom t may concern:

y Be it known that` we, E. F. BRADFORD andV specification, in which- Figure l is a plan of the under side of the machine, and Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical sections in the linea x ofFig.` 1, showingin elevationthe working parts of our improvement. Fig. 4 is a skeleton drawing, showing the devices by means of which the presser-foot D is autoniatically raised when the material to be sewed is fed along.

\ Like parts are indicate-d by the same letters in all the drawings.

Our invention relates exclusively to what are i known as waxed-thread77 sewing-machines,

or, in other words, to sewing-machines in which are used a waxed thread and a barb or hook needle, either with or without an awl; and its nature consists, first, in producing the feed in al waxed-thread 4and hook-needle sewing-ma- .chine'by means of the thread acted upon at the proper time by a finger or hook, or their equivalent, under the material to be sewed; second, in arranging the feed-finger B to operate upon the thread within a slot or hole in the sewing-plate, and either j ust below or flush with the upper surface of the same, so as to act upon the thread or loop as near to the material to be sewed as possible, and without producing any friction on the same, third, in the employment of an automatically-lifting press er-foot, in combination with a thread-feed and hook-needle sewing-machine, by means of `whichnew combinations and arrangements we are enabled to secure a number of very imi j portant advantages.

First, we produceasimpler and consequently cheaper machine, more durable and less liable to get V out of order than any other waxed- -thread or hook-needle sewing-machine in general use.

Second, our machine enables usto make an leven stitch, whatever the. variations in the thickness of the material sewed,whereas with the waxed-thread or awl or needle-feed sewin gmachines in general use the shortest stitch is made where the stock is thickest, and vice versa.

Third, our machine will sew around any de- Y' sired curvewithout lengthening the stitch or rendering the stitch liable to be broken in the act of turning the material to be sewed.

Fourth, our machine is more sure todraw up and tighten the corner stitch in sewing round a right angle than otherwaxed-thread 'sewing-machines in general use.

Fifth, our machine is capable of sewing from' one to several thicknesses of material without its being necessary to adjust either the tension` or machine for that purpose.

Sixth, with our machine the material to be sewed can be adjusted on the sewing-plate or removed without the use of the operators hand to raise the presser-foot-,an advantage which we believe is not found in any other hook-needle or waxed-thread sewing-machine. Seventh, our machine allows the needle and awl (free from all lateral strain) 'to follow each other up and down with less liability to get out ot' place than is the casewith other waxedthread sewing-machines in which the awl or needlefeed is used.

Eighth, our machine, we think, is much less liable to pucker thin stock than any other lwaxed-thread sewing-machine in use.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our improvement, we will now proceed to describe the construction and operation of `the same.

. The table Z, goose-neck O, main shaft Y, cam X, lever V, cam S, needle-bar Q `and its friction-wheel R, needle F, cast-off I, with its carrier P, presser D, thread-guide Gr, and

` awl E, with its carrier, being allconstructed,

arranged, combined, and operating substantially as in other well-known machines, we will not describe.

. A is the throat-piece.

B is the feed-finger, which, hein g forced against the thread at the proper moment, moves along the material to be sewed. This nger B consists of a piece of wire about oneeighth of an inch in diameter, and bent into the shape represented in Figs. 2 and 3, its lower end entering a horizontal hole in the end of theslide H, and its upper end, flattened on two sides, playing freely in the throat-piece, without, however, extending quite up to the surface of the same. vThe fiat 'slide H reciprocates freely in a suitable slot in the under side of the table Z, being held in place by means ot' the plate or cover N, which is attached to the under side of the bed-plate by the small screws b. The finger is confined in the slide H by means of the set-screw g.

K is an arm extending downward from the slide H. To the hook e in this arm is attached one end of the spiral spring d, the opposite end being attached to the stationary hook f in the bottom of the table Z. The purpose of this spring d is to draw back the finger B from the thread into the position shown in Fig. 2, said y finger being driven forward against the thread at the proper time, between the awl and needle, into the position represented in Fig.3, by means of the bent lever T, which is attached to the under side of the table Z by the pivotscrew a. One end of this lever is provided with afriction-roller, which plays in the grooved cam U, the latter being so shaped and timed as to actuate the said lever at the proper moment and force it against the end of the setscrew L, which passes through the arm K, whereby the finger B will be driven forward against the double thread or loop between the points of the awl and needle, and thereby produce the feed, the presser-foot D being raised to allow the material C to slide with freedom under it, as shown in Fig. 3. The presser-foot D is raised automatically by means of the devices shown in the lskeleton drawing, Fig. 4, in which A' is a lever turning on the fulcrum B', and having its front end pivoted at C' to the presser-foot bar, and its rear end pivoted at D' to the rod E', of which H'is a continuation, the two being connected by means of a right-and-left-hand screw-nut, G'.

I.' is a vibrating bar, through the free end ot' which is passed the axis J of a friction-roller, K', which latter runs in acam-groove in the side of the wheel M', fast to the driving-shaft Y. The lower end of the rod H' is enlarged, and provided with a hole to vreceive the outer end of the axle J', L' being a broad-headed screw, by means ot' which the rod H' is kept in place on the aXle J. Thus as the cam M (being properly timed on the driving-shaft Y) rotates the presser-foot D will be raised and allow the material to be sewed to slide freely under it. The height to which the presser-foot is raised above the sewing-plate may be regulated by turning the right-and-left-hand nut G', so as to lengthen or shorten the distance between the points D and J'.

F' is a check-nut.

The length ot' the stitch may be regulated by means of the set-screw L.

M is a cheek-uut to prevent the screw L from getting loose.

t is the commonwaxed thread employed for sewing leather. Other suitable thread, however,mayobviously be used with our machine, if ever required. Proper tension is given to the thread in the usual manner. Vith our feeding device, however, much less tension on the thread is required than with any other, as

thein-ger B, pressing on the loop, assists in drawing in the stitch.

In place ofthe inger B, it is obvious that a hook or other equivalent devices might be used to press or draw the thread at the proper moment under the material to be sewed, and between the awl and the needle when the lat ter are in the position .represented in Fig. 3, and thereby accomplish the end required.

It is also obvious that our feed may be applied to a sewing-machine where only a barbed needle is used without an awl.

We do not claim, broadly, the thread-feed; but

What we do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1.\ The thread-feed, in combination with a hook or barb needle, either with or without an awl, substantially as described.

2. The employment of the feed-finger B, in

combination with a hook-needle or hook-neev 4. The combination and arrangement of thel finger B with the hook-needle F and automatically-rising presser-foot D, substantially as and for the purpose described.

E. F. BRADFORD. L. L. BARBER. Witnesses:

N. AMEs, GEO. R. CLARKE. 

